Netflix India's Head of Content Summoned Over Controversy Surrounding 'IC 814' Web Series

The series, which depicts the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight by the Pakistan-based terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, has faced criticism for altering the names of the hijackers to "Bhola" and "Shankar."

According to sources, Monika Shergill, Netflix India's content chief, received the summons from the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry after numerous social media users accused the show's creators of deliberately changing the hijackers' names. The series, created by Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Srivastava, is based on the book Flight Into Fear: The Captain's Story by Devi Sharan, the flight's captain, and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury. It stars Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma, and Pankaj Kapur.

The series dramatizes the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight 814 on December 24, 1999. The plane, which had 191 passengers, was en route from Kathmandu to Delhi when it was taken over by five hijackers posing as passengers. The aircraft made multiple stops in Amritsar, Lahore, and Dubai before being taken to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The then-government, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had to release three notorious terrorists—Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar—from Indian prisons to secure the hostages' release. Reports indicate that Taliban authorities facilitated the hijackers and the released terrorists' transfer to Pakistan.

A statement from the Union Home Ministry on January 6, 2000, listed the hijackers as Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, and Shakir. Several journalists who covered the hijacking have disputed the show's depiction, claiming the hijackers used these names among themselves.

BJP leader Amit Malviya has criticized the series for its portrayal. He argued that the use of altered names perpetuates a false narrative, suggesting that the series aims to obscure the true identity of the hijackers.